


A Pup Named Blue

by SansyFresh



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abandonment, Blue is a Hybrid Dog, Dog training, Edge is a Hybrid Dog, Fluff, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Realistic Depictions of Rescue Animals, Red is tired, Rus is in over his head, Slow Training, honestly this is just fluff, the first chapter is a little rougher, this is really just cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-06-26 17:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19772980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansyFresh/pseuds/SansyFresh
Summary: Rus is ready to take on a new responsibility, and that responsibility comes to him in the form of his new pup, Blue.





	1. Finding Blue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic for bitchy-fanfics over on tumblr! I hope you enjoy it dear ^^
> 
> Yeah this is basically just fluff. Some rougher topics in the first chapter, but this is kinda a realistic look at dealing with a hyper dog that needs trained but also needs the comfort that you're not going to leave them behind.
> 
> enjoy ^^

The building was small and, for the most part, unimposing, but Rus still found himself nervous at the thought of actually getting out of his car and going inside. It was his own choice to look up about hybrid monsters that needed good homes, his own choice to contact the owner of this particular shelter and fill out all the forms needed online. But now that he was here, it seemed almost like a mistake.

Shaking his head, Rus unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door, making himself slide out and shut the door behind him, the lock turning automatically. Shuddering at the sound, Rus then made himself turn away from the car and walk up to the sidewalk, striding up the walk and to the door, his hand pulling it open and his legs carrying him inside before he could chicken out again.

The noise was intense, at first. All the barking and meowing and chirping of all the little hybrids, all playing in the large pens that made up more than half of the rather large room. The building had looked huge from the outside, the inside making it seem even more massive. It was like a warehouse, walls up and enclosing rooms but they only went about halfway up to the ceiling high above. The room he was in was huge on its own, but then again most of the hybrids seemed to be out and about playing just in here.

Carefully moving towards the greeting desk, he kept his hands in his pockets, hoping to avoid any wayward licks as he passed. Several sleeping feline hybrids were resting on top of the walls to the pens, some looking up at him lazily, but every one of them simply went back to sleep, uninterested in his boney frame.

Some part of him was relieved… cats made him nervous.

A small lizard monster was watching him as he made his way over, a small, knowing smile on her face. He felt a bit more relaxed as she looked him over, apparently deeming him worthy as she rummaged under the desk and brought out a small bowl of dog treats.

“I assume you’re the Rus guy here to look at the rescues?” she asked, watching patiently as he picked out a biscuit. Rus gave her a small grin, nodding as he pocketed the treat. 

“I am! I signed all the paperwork for adoption already, today is my choosing day?”

The woman nodded, getting up from her chair to lead him to the back of the room. “Yeah, it’s a good day for it. They’ve all just eaten and most of them are asleep, so there won’t be any jumping or nipping incidents.” Glancing back, she gave him another look over, this time with a small hint of reproach. “At least, unless you do something to instigate it.”

Rus raised his hands, grin turning sheepish. “I won’t be doing anything to annoy them, scout’s honor.” She nodded, seemingly pacified, and led him over to a large swinging door with large letters spelling out “Employees Only” over the glass. A key was fished from a pocket, the woman unlocking the door with a swift turn and pushing through, leaving Rus to follow behind. The noise was instantly muffled, the halls narrow as Rus followed the woman down and past several open doors until they reached another large room, this one enclosed in metal walls. The door was heavy duty, the woman putting in a ten digit code before it opened with a creak.

Rus took a deep breath before moving forward and through the door, the energy intimately different than the front room had been. Large cages lined the walls, most with a glass front but a few with metal bars. The smell was better than he expected from a room like this, and blankets and pillows lined the floors and walls of the cages, but it was still somewhere he never wanted to see again. 

As the woman had said, most of the hybrids were asleep, or in the process of eating, and not a single one of the first ones he saw seemed interested in him. They were scarred, some of them, some of them missing limbs and fur and some of them laying in a heap in the back of their cage where the light didn’t meet them.

It broke his soul, seeing them all like this, but he knew there was very little he could do to help all of them. The next time he had some extra money though, he was donating to this place. They were all back here for their own safety and to reduce stress, but it still ate at him that none of them had loving homes yet.

Moving further down the hall between walls, he felt his soul dipping lower and lower as not a single hybrid looked at him, or even seemed to realize that there was someone there. A few, maybe one or two actually flinched at the sound of his steps, his soul hurting for them. But, after a moment of watching a little lizard hybrid scuttle back to its nest, he heard a small, rapid scuffing sound, like little claws on plastic. Turning his head, he followed the sound down to one of the last cages, the glass front completely fogged up but he could just make out the little guy that was making the noise.

It was a small canine hybrid, with thick, white fur and blue bone-like markings on its back, thick tail, and pointed ears, the little fuzzy face staring up at him with distressed, baby blue eyes. Its obvious desperation to get his attention had him going up to the pen, looking for a way to open it before the lizard woman, who he’d forgotten was in the room, moved forward to let the little guy out. 

He instantly had an armful of bouncy, hyper fur, a tiny pink tongue licking over every bone it could reach, and Rus asked “What’s this little dude’s name?” through a laugh. 

The woman was smiling down at the two of them, and if he hadn’t been distracted with the dog in his arms he would have seen the sadness in it. “That’s Blue, he’s one of our least damaged rescues.” Rus looked up to her questioningly, and she continued. “He’s really just back _here_ because he’s been returned so many times. 11 families and not a single one kept him longer than six months.”

Rus felt his jaw fall open, which just gave Blue the opportunity to french kiss him with affection for the pets that were being rained on his tiny body. “No one? At all?”

She shook her head, the sorrow obvious, and Rus looked down at the positively beaming pup in his hands and knew in his soul what he had to do.

“I’ll take him.”


	2. Day 1, Day 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, just a reminder that this is a fairly realistic look at how hard it can be to raise a dog. sometimes, rehoming _is_ the answer, if someone else can better teach and train and take care of that dog than you'd be able to. 
> 
> but enjoy guys, cause Rus ain't giving up!

The moment Rus opened the door to his small house, Blue zoomed forward, the leash in Rus’ unpracticed hand slipping loose before he could tighten his grip. He could only watch as Blue muscled his way through the cracked doorway, pushing it open from Rus’ hand and bumping into the side table, a small glass of water falling to the floor with a wet thump.

The sounds of crashing furniture and the faint breaking of glass made Rus wince, his body locked in place as he listened to it. This was… something he had not prepared for. He knew getting a rescue meant there would be bad times, that came with the territory, but really he hadn’t thought of the hybrid being overly hyper. 

So. There was a lot of breakable shit that he hadn’t ever gotten rid of when his last roommate had moved out. Guess this took care of that.

Sighing, he moved to step inside just as the sound started to calm down, Blue zooming back to him, one ear flopped back and his body covered in some unknowable light brown liquid. Wincing, Rus gingerly picked him up by the armpits, holding him as close as he dared while padding towards the bathroom. Blue stretched and contorted as much as he was able to lick every part of Rus he could reach throughout the trip, Rus silently enduring it until they finally reached the bathtub. 

Kicking the door shut behind him, Rus set him down, blocking any scrambling attempts to escape as he turned on the water, checking that it was warm enough before detaching the showerhead and running the rivulets of water over Blue’s dingy fur. 

Thankfully the pup didn’t seem to mind baths, Blue’s tongue lolling out as he stood patiently while Rus rinsed him thoroughly. Magic carried the bag of dog stuff from the kitchen, getting the bottle of soap and giving it a sniff before rubbing a good portion onto Blue’s fur. 

Soon enough the water ran clear and Blue’s fur was once again a snowy white, Rus floating over a towel and giving the pup a good rub down before setting him on the small, blue rub just outside of the tub.

“Alright, uh, stay?” Rus said, backing up towards the door. Blue began to follow him, slow as if he was sure Rus was playing some sort of game, which only gave Rus the opportunity to quickly back out and shut the door before Blue could run out. The sound of scratching and whining came instantly, Blue pawing at the other side with a vengeance that made Rus’s soul constrict with sympathy. 

But, just looking around the hall he was in made him wince for a different reason. Trash was strewn all over the floor, littered pieces laying here or there on top of piles of weirdly colored puddles, little broken pieces of crockery scattered about. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see what had become of his kitchen, but, sighing, he set his shoulders and started cleaning.

It was difficult, ignoring the whining and crying coming from the bathroom door, but Rus perservered, finally getting all of the mess cleaned up in the span of an hour or so. Huffing a bit, he finally went to the bathroom door, where Blue had quieted down after the half hour mark. Rus had assumed that the little guy had fallen asleep, tuckered out from his romp through the house, but when he opened the door, an even bigger mess of torn and shredded toilet paper greeted him, Blue sitting in the middle of it with a big doggy grin.

Sighing, he got back to work.

~.~

It’d been nearly two weeks of nonstop messes, Blue barking every time something moved outside the house, and absolute hell when Rus tried to take him walking. Blue would bark at every person, animal, and tree they passed, even if he didn’t mean anything by it. He would pull at the leash, damn near choking himself with it and tugging Rus at a much faster pace than the skeleton was eager to get into right away, but trying to get him to slow down only resulted in more choking.

Ever bed he bought for the little guy was torn to shreds, the stuffing pulled out through a hole before the fabric was finally shredded with tiny, sharp teeth. The blankets were the same way; Rus was sure he’d spent a small fortune by now on just blankets. Even the blankets on his own bed weren’t safe, his favorite fleece covers ripped at the very end where they hung over the edge of the bed.

Rus flopped back on the couch on the 20th day, hand over his sockets as he listened to Blue tear into his new chew toy. He’d hoped that having toys to chew and tear into would curb some of the shredding habits, but this was the fourth toy he’d bought this week.

He needed some way to help Blue learn to calm down a little, but he was sort of out of his comfort and knowledge zones with this whole thing. Blue had seemed like an okay pup, just a bit more excitable than the others. But… really Blue just hadn’t been trained or socialized enough to be functional.

Blinking, Rus raised his hand, staring at it for a long moment before he was scrambling up to a sitting position, grabbing his phone off the coffee table. He’d train Blue! He just needed the basic tips and tricks and the knowhow of experts in the field and he was sure he could do it. Blue was already smart enough to figure things out, just the other day he’d learned how to open the fridge and get his nose down in the meat drawer.

He’d been sick for a week after that, his magic making him burp noxious burps that made Rus’ magic turn.

He’d train him, he’d teach him to do better, to be better, and Blue would be the greatest dog to ever dog!

Glancing over at Blue, Rus winced at the sight of the now destroyed toy, Blue gnawing on the remnants. He hoped this worked.


	3. Day 20, Day 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> our little boy is learning well, aren't you Blue
> 
> Rus is still working on things lol
> 
> enjoy :D

Rus stared down at a happy, smiling Blue, one hand hidden behind his back as his other came up in a flat motion. “Blue, sit.”

Blue tilted his head for second before his rump hit the floor, his bright eyes looking instantly to Rus’s hidden hand. Chuckling, Rus shook his head, snapping his fingers to get Blue’s full attention again. 

“You can have that after you do this next one.” Pausing, he raised his hand again, this time bringing a tug toy over for Blue to attack and pull on. The pup fell for the bait almost instantly, little fangs grinding on the harsh rope, a squeaky growl splitting the air as he pulled on the toy, trying to get it out of Rus’ grip.

Laughing, Rus finally let it go, watching as Blue tumbled back before settling onto the floor, starting to tear into his prize with relish. 

“Ah, ah, Blue drop it.” Rus said firmly, hand up where Blue could see it. For a moment, Blue just stared up at him with one eye as he continued chewing, Rus frowning softly as he snapped his fingers again.

“Drop it.”

Whining softly, Blue did as he was told, the toy falling from his mouth as he pulled himself back up into a sitting position.

Rus smiled, reaching down with his free hand to give the pup a good hearty scritch behind the ears before finally holding out the hand with the treat.

“Good boy, Blue, good boy. Have your treat, heh.” Watching as Blue happily devoured the small pile of bacon bits, Rus wondered at just how easy it was to get Blue to drop the damn toy, compared to the first few times. 

It’d been nearly three weeks of trash being strewn across every surface nearly every day, Rus having to mop or scrub up weird, unknowable liquids, and generally running up his water bill cleaning his house and washing Blue after he got into everything. 

The training had gone strange in the beginning, if he was being generous. Blue didn’t seem to have any kind of training at all in terms of commands or gestures, which made Rus wonder what his first families had even been doing. It was a journey, teaching Blue what “Sit” meant and what he was supposed to do when Rus said it, and that was only the beginning. 

It took nearly a week to really get Blue to understand that sit meant his rump was to hit the ground, though Rus hadn’t really tried “Stay” yet so it never sat there long. Teaching Blue “Drop It” had been an entirely different monster (heh), mostly for the sole reason that Blue… didn’t want to learn it. 

Rus had been sure after the next half week that Blue understood drop it, and that he just didn’t want to obey. Today had been the first time he’d gotten Blue to successfully obey the command, which was worthy of treats indeed.

As Blue finished licking his teeth, his bright eyes glanced up at Rus, hopeful. 

“Alright, bud, let’s go through them again and you can have another treat.”

~.~

Opening the door, he let Blue through first before turning the lock and stepping out, letting it shut behind the two of them. Blue followed him happily down the steps to the sidewalk, Rus scuffing his feet as he looked down both directions before deciding.

“We’ll head to the park today, huh bud?” Rus grinned as Blue hopped around his feet, tongue lolling out in perfect doggy contentment. Shaking his head, Rus started down the sidewalk, Blue following along behind him with a pitter-patter of tiny paws against cement.

It was around a twenty minute walk to the park, where Rus usually went to the fenced in portion for dog owners and let Blue loose for a little while to socialize and get all the smells he could find. Today the walk went a little faster, just for the chill air that nipped at Rus’ bare bone. As much as bone couldn’t really get cold, he could still fuckin’ feel uncomfortable. 

Deciding that he’d only stay at the park for a half hour, just long enough for Blue to get out his energy, Rus led Blue through the copse of trees at the beginning of the park and down the path to the gated area. 

As they came up, Rus spotted another skeleton, shorter with fans and a grim smile. He was watching a medium sized dog hybrid with thin, black and brown fur run around the enclosure, long chain leash in one hand. 

Blue didn’t have any issues with other hybrids, but he’d have to keep an eye on this other one, Rus figured as he unhooked the gate and carefully let Blue in to close it behind them. Blue was instantly on alert, taking in every scent and watching the other dog with interested eyes.

The other skeleton was glancing over with an interested air, but Rus could feel the tension in the air that always came with new dogs meeting each other. He watched as Blue trotted over to the taller hybrid, the two of them sniffing each other intently before seemingly accepting the other into their pack. Or at least that was what Rus assumed they were doing, since the black one immediately took off and Blue raced after them. 

The skeleton next to him was chuckling, clearly pleased, and Rus had to agree.

“Name’s Red.” they said, sticking out a hand for a fist bump. Rus held out his own, completing the move as he answered.

“Mine’s Rus. He’s Blue, lil’ spitfire.”

Red laughed. “‘e’s Edge. e’s...still in training.” The pained look on his face told Rus all he needed to know about how that was going. He could relate.

“Blue’s… to energetic for his own good.”

Red scoffed. “Ya want energy, Edge’ll give ya energy. That kid could level a city if I let ‘im.”

Rus laughed, shaking his head as he watched Blue ad Edge case each other back and forth around the large enclosure. He’d have to get up the nerve to ask Red for his number, see if they could set up more playdates. Blue could use the playmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw i imagine Edge looks like a doberman, Blue looks like a pomeranian <3


	4. Day 40, Day 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter!!! i hope you're all enjoying ^^
> 
> enjoy :D
> 
> TW for mentions of throwing up

Rus was taking a well deserved nap, in his opinion. He’d cleaned the entire apartment, since it had started to get a little too musty even for his standards (Blue had started sneezing every little bit from the dust build up), so he deserved a bit of peace and tranquility for his hard work.

Blue seemed to agree, since he was unusually quiet, laying next to the couch Rus was sacked out on with a rope toy in his mouth. He’d been quietly gnawing for nearly 30 minutes, which was right around the time Rus had started to drift off. 

There was blissful silence for another half hour, Rus nearly fully asleep and lost to the world before he heaved, the sudden heavy weight on his chest making it difficult to breathe, let alone move. Glancing down with wide eyes, he found Blue getting comfortable on top of him, eyes sleepy. With a final wide yawn, Blue settled down, head propped on his paws. 

Rus stared for a long time, his hand making its way slowly down to Blue’s head, gently scratching behind his ears. Blue huffed in his sleep, pushing a bit into the attention, but didn’t wake up.

Blue knew and understood the command “Get Down”, he’d practiced it with the couch a number of times after Blue had tried to make himself at home on someone’s lap that had come over to hang out. (That someone certainly wasn’t a stocky skeleton with a gold tooth that just sort of laughed at Blue’s antics). But… Blue also wasn’t that cuddly most of the time. Rus felt like this was a good opportunity to bond.

He drew drowsy again soon enough, his hand moving on autopilot as he continued to pet Blue as he fell asleep.

Of course when he woke up Blue had jumped down and made a mess of the bathroom, but he couldn’t even be mad.

~.~

Of course some of the commands were a little harder than others when it came to teaching them, Fetch being one of them. Blue had figured out fetching when it came to Rus chucking something across the room, bringing it back had been the real challenge.

Once Blue got the jist of that, though, stationary objects was next, and that just seemed to baffle the poor pup. 

Rus had tried everything to teach Blue that it was okay to fetch something sitting on a table or chair if Rus asked him to, but the rules about not just grabbing food off plates and such had made it a bit confusing when Rus tried to get him to fetch a bottle of honey from the kitchen table and brought to the kitchen. 

It took a few tries, Rus even demonstrating to Blue what it was he was supposed to do and where he was supposed to go, but when he got it, Rus found himself getting little gifts even when he went to bed at night. 

Blue would bring him honey from the fridge even, and while it was a mystery how the little pup even got it open in the first place, Rus hadn’t questioned the gift of a late night snack. At least until Blue had the bottle gripped a little too hard, a little too close to the lid.

It’d been one hell of a time, trying to get out of his honey drenched bedding and clothes to get himself and Blue in the shower.

There was no fetching of honey after that. 

Then of course there was the incident of the cigarettes. Rus had left Blue home alone, fairly assured that Blue would make only a minimal mess, since he’d gated off the bathroom and kitchen with the baby gates Red had recommended. It seemed to work just fine, so Rus had made a quick trip to the store for groceries. 

When he returned home, Blue had been hacking up magic filled with cigarette butts and ash. Rus had nearly lost his mind, picking Blue up and all but throwing him in the back seat of his car as he drove to the vet. 

They’d explained that Blue was simply purging the toxins, and that Rus should really keep better track of his cigs if he simply had to have them.

Rus could feel the judgement as he left, the guilt heavy in his soul as he kept a close eyelight on Blue the entire night. 

Thankfully he only threw up once after that, the mess small and easy to clean as Blue danced around him happily, tongue lolling out.

Rus shook his head, but he was smiling.


	5. Day 60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here we are at the end lol thank you for reading, everyone ^^ i hope you enjoyed :D
> 
> enjoy ^^

Its on another walk down to the dog park that Rus discovers just how much he loves Blue. Yeah, sure he loved Blue before that, it was obvious in the way he let Blue get away with sleeping in his bed, even though all the “credited” and “prestigious” training websites said not to. It was obvious in the way Rus would let Blue finish off his scraps at dinner or when they were out, even when it got him looks at the park when he let Blue have the rest of his ice cream cone. 

Well, watching a dog to to town on a strawberry cone covered in rainbow sprinkles might have been a sight to see, he supposed.

But no, it was in this moment, as he saw Red off in the distance, leaning against the dog park fence like the loser he was, that he glanced down to look at Blue. The little guy was dancing on his tiny paws, prancing back and forth as he barked excitedly up at Rus, glancing back and forth from where Edge was patiently waiting by the gate back to Rus.

It was adorable, the  _ most  _ adorable thing Rus had seen Blue do, and suddenly all the messes, all the training, all the heartache and strife of raising a hyperactive dog was completely worth it. 

He loved Blue. And that was all there was to it.

Edge jumped up with an excited bark as the two of them made their way through the gate, Red smirking as Rus bent to unhook Blue’s leash, the two dogs taking off like they did every time they met up like this. Rus watched them with a grin, sidling up to Red’s side to lean against the bench beside him. They’d been a this for a while now, Red having toned down the intensive posturing and Rus having put away some of his biases about monster’s with LV. 

Red was a good guy, and an excellent “dad” to his pup. Edge was well trained and obviously showered with love and affection whenever no one was looking, since the pup was well behaved and a perfect gentleman to Blue. 

The rough playing only turned into a fight sometimes. A quick whistle from either Red or Rus was usually enough to get them back to playing, even if it was a little rough.

“Y’know, I heard there was some’kina obedience trial happening this weekend.” Red said as they watched Blue pin Edge to the ground, nibbling on his ear with a ferocity. (Edge was letting it happen, Rus was sure of it). 

Rus nodded, only semi-listening, though he was certainly paying attention when Red jabbed him in the ribs. “Shit, yeah, obedience training, what about it?”

Red gave him a look like he was stupid, the biggest idiot on the planet, just plain dumb. “So. Yer should take Blue.”

Rus stared at him for a long moment, taking in the fact that he was wearing his Serious Face, then glanced back at Blue.

It wasn’t a completely mad idea. Blue had pretty much been on point about obeying a command as soon as it was given, at least when it came to the basic commands. He wasn’t sure how Blue would fare with something more complicated, or when having to perform what he did know in front of a crowd. (He really,  _ really  _ wasn’t sure his own personal anxieties could handle that, either.)

But, instead of voicing any of that, Rus just grinned sideways and shrugged. “Hey you wanna come over tonight? Got some chili mac with your name on it.”

It was an unsubtle subject change and the small glare Red gave him proved it, but the other skeleton seemed to catch on to his unease and simply grinned. “Hey, I’m always in the mood for free food.”

After another hour or so of Edge and Blue running themselves until they were a ragged mess, panting through open mouths, Blue trotting tiredly up to Rus to signify he was done for the day, Rus and Red hooked their leashes back on and, not for the first time, headed to Rus’ home together. 

It wasn’t a long walk back, but it was a quiet one, Edge and Blue trotting after Rus and Red, the companionable silence comforting. But, as soon as Rus had unlocked his front door and let the two dogs inside, Red coming in behind him, noise reigned supreme.

Red flopped on the couch after kicking his shoes off at the door, already aware of Rus’ weird complex about it, and clicked on the tv as both dogs dug into Blue’s toybox, getting out every toy they decided was decent enough to play with (it just happened to be most of them). 

Rus shook his head as the low, dulcet tones of Monster Fish started flowing through the house, heading for the kitchen to warm up the chili mac. Soon enough the smell of spices started to fill the house, both dogs abandoning their toys to stand at Rus’ side and beg for food. Shaking his head, Rus snapped his fingers and pointed to the floor, both dogs laying down with pointed ears. He chuckled, turning back to the food, but not before throwing them each a chunk of hamburger. 

The meal was filling, spicy and delicious, if Rus said so himself. Red seemed to agree, cleaning his bowl before he was asleep, Edge curled around his feet. Rus himself was sacked out on the other corner of the couch, full and sated as Spaceballs played near silently in the background.

A small whine startled him from his doze, Rus glancing up to find Blue sitting right by his feet, staring up with imploring eyes. Rolling his own, Rus glanced once at Red before he looked back, patting his lap. Blue jumped up happily, nuzzling Rus once before he settled in, curled into Rus’ chest.

This wasn’t a bad way to end a day, Rus thought as he started to doze off again, Blue a warmth against him.

Naw. He didn’t regret it at all.


End file.
